Changes on the Doorstep
by juliaaaa15
Summary: Things change in the Corinthos household when Rhiannon joins the family. First 3 chapters rewritten!
1. Chapter 1

**Changes on the Doorstep**

Sonny Corinthos and Kate Howard are happy newlyweds, and Kate had just gotten used to the fact that she is a stepmother to Michael, Morgan, and Kristina. Her life takes another turn when Rhiannon Star arrives on the Corinthos's doorstep.

**I do not own General Hospital or any of its characters. I only own Rhiannon and any other minor characters that show up throughout the story. Note: Chapters 1-3 have been rewritten!!!**

Chapter 1

It was just another normal, summer, Saturday morning. Well, normal in the way Port Charles would describe it. However, in the new and improved Corinthos household, it was definitely not another "Port Charles" morning. It was a calm and peaceful one. Being the weekend, Sonny Corinthos had the days off, and took advantage of it by sleeping late, something he would never be able to do during the weekdays.

There was something different when he woke up. This was something he experienced for the past month so far. Before then, he would never be smelling fresh coffee or bacon still frying on the pan. He used to live alone, unless his sons Michael and Morgan were there, and neither of them could cook; they would just burn the house down. No, it was his new wife Kate Howard, who he had married a month previously. He still had to get used to the fact that there was someone else in the household now, and every weekend he would walk downstairs and be greeted with a cup of coffee and a perfect breakfast, made by his perfect new wife.

Smiling to himself, Sonny lazily rose out of bed and slipped on a pair of jeans and a crisp black shirt. After combing through his messy, black hair and putting in a little of the usual gel, he walked downstairs and made his way into the kitchen, where, as he expected, a mug was thrust into his left hand and a kiss was pecked on his cheek.

"Morning honey!" Kate said, her cheeks flushing with joy. Sonny had never seen her this happy since they were teenagers living in Bensonhurst, back when she was Connie Falconeri, and they were the traditional boyfriend and girlfriend. After she had stood him up when they were supposed to run away together, he had never seen her again until she came to town and borrowed his phone. By then, she had since changed her name to Kate Howard, and was now a powerful editor-in-chief for a famous fashion magazine. She tried to hide her feelings at first, but finally decided that she didn't care what people thought of her marrying a mobster. She used to live in the house next door to Sonny, but had moved into his house.

"Hey," Sonny crooned, taking a seat at the table with Kate sitting across from him. "Bacon again, I see," he continued with a smile. He raised his eyebrows as he watched Kate pile several strips of bacon and two fried eggs on her plate and started shoveling through them with a fork. Being a fashion editor, Kate had made it very clear over the past few months that she had to watch her weight and appearance, but ever since the marriage, she had started to eat more, and cared less about her looks when she was in the house or went for a simple stroll around town. This morning, for instance, she was wearing a simple pair of faded jeans and a white tank top, and her short hair was merely combed through; nothing fancy. Not that Sonny minded the change. He liked her a lot better this way.

Kate noticed him staring at her and put down her fork. "What?" she asked innocently.

Sonny raised his hands in surrender and grinned. "Nothing, nothing!" he insisted. "I just like to see you eat for a change."

Kate rolled her eyes and laughed. "Well, your sons have taught me that chasing them around the house is a good way to get basic exercise. And hitting the gym is actually more fun then it looks," she defended. "Speaking of Michael and Morgan, are they here for the weekend?"

"No, Carly has them this weekend. They're coming back here on Tuesday. She, the boys, and Jax went to the shore for a few days," he told her, talking about his ex-wife, Carly Jacks, and her husband, whose real name was Jasper Jacks. He and Carly were still on good terms, and he had learned to get along with Jax. Kate was also making an effort to get along with Carly, for they had ended up as rivals the day they met.

"I see," Kate mused, twirling her fork in her hand. Then her face lit up. "I talked to Alexis yesterday. She said that she was going somewhere for a few hours and wanted us to take Kristina while she was gone." As she expected, Sonny nodded in agreement with a smile on his face. Kristina Davis was his five-year-old daughter with Alexis Davis, and unlike Michael and Morgan, she didn't spend as much time with him as they did, so their time together was precious.

A few months ago, Kate could never see herself raising kids. She thought that she hated them. But as she got to know Michael and Morgan, and Kristina later on, she realized that although they could cause trouble sometimes, they never truly meant it, and were in fact really good kids. She remembered rescuing Morgan from her pond, even though she couldn't swim, and ended up getting a snake bite and got rushed to the hospital. She still had the couple dozen cards the kids had made, each of them with a different but heartfelt apology, and treasured them.

"So is Alexis bringing Kristina over here?" Sonny asked, breaking Kate from her thoughts.

"Oh, um, yeah," Kate answered, jolted back into reality. She glanced at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. "In fact, she should be here now…"

"Oh, she's probably running late," Sonny guessed. "You know Alexis. She could just be getting an ice cream cone and BANG, she'll suddenly be prosecuting a new case or something."

"Ice cream cone?" Kate asked, laughing.

"What?" Sonny said with a shrug. "It was the first thing that came to my mind."

There was a knock on the door. "That must be Alexis," Sonny decided as he rose from the table. He briskly strode from the kitchen into the living room where the front door was, with Kate following a few feet behind. He opened the door, revealing a woman who was not Alexis. His face registered surprise.

"Um, hello," he greeted awkwardly, stepping aside to let the woman in.

"Hello," the woman answered, walking inside. "Are you two Mr. and Mrs. Corinthos?" she asked.

"That would be correct," Sonny replied, a little confused. "Uh, would you like to sit down?"

"Thank you." The woman proceeded to take a seat on the sofa, while Sonny plopped down on one of the couches. Kate remained standing behind him. Sonny took this momentary silence to study the woman. She was smartly dressed, wearing a white blouse with a navy blue overcoat and a matching knee-length skirt. Her dark hair was pulled back into a simple bun, and her face didn't show anything that resembled anger or such. Sonny breathed a sigh of relief. She was probably one of those salespeople that stop by occasionally, and the only thing he would have to worry about was her demanding them to buy something.

The woman took out a clipboard containing several papers and looked at Kate. "Mrs. Corinthos, you have an older sister Isabella, correct?"

Kate was taken aback. "Yes," she answered slowly. "May I ask who you are?"

The woman was shocked. "Oh, I'm sorry. Here I am barging in and asking questions and I don't even introduce myself!" she apologized with a smile. "I'm Anne Garrett from the New England Social Services."

"Social Services?" Kate echoed, clearly perplexed. What did Social Services have to do with her?  
"Yes," Anne prompted. "Now, back to the questions. When was the last time you have had contact with your sister?"

Kate was deeply flustered. "Well, probably almost seventeen years ago," she answered quietly.

Anne raised her eyebrows but didn't press on with that particular topic. "I'm sure you know that she and her husband have a daughter?" she asked.

Kate nodded. "Yes…." she said slowly.

"Well, I am sorry to report that your sister and her husband, Anthony Star, have been found murdered in their home in Bensonhurst. Police are investigating this right now as we speak. I'm guessing that nobody has contacted you about it, otherwise you wouldn't be so shocked right now."

Kate nodded, her face ghost white. Sonny was deeply shocked as well. He remembered Izzy. She was a few years older than Kate and was the only person in her family that truly got along with him.

"Their sixteen-year-old daughter, Rhiannon, was out at the time, so thankfully she was spared. Unfortunately, we don't know if the murderer has a grudge against the whole family and wants to find Rhiannon as well, so we are currently holding her in police custody to keep her safe. Mrs. Corinthos, you are the only close living relative she has. Your parents and Anthony's parents have passed away some time ago, and he didn't have any siblings. So we were hoping that you and her husband would be able to take her in?"

"Take her in?" Sonny said. "But that means…"

"We want her to live with you," Anne stated.

"L-live with us?!" Kate repeated, her face stricken with horror. Next to her, Sonny looked like he was clubbed over the head.

"If this is unable to happen, then Rhiannon will be put into foster care," Anne continued. "And I will tell you now, she **will **react badly to that."

"I doubt she would like living with an estranged aunt any better," Kate blurted out.

Anne sighed. "I know that this is sudden, Mrs. Corinthos, but having Rhiannon live with you would be the right thing. Your records show that this would be a suitable environment, and-"

"Records?" Sonny interrupted. "Suitable environment?"

"Yes," Anne said, sounding slightly confused as she pulled out some papers and began reading them. "Let's see…ah! Yes, it says that you, Mr. Corinthos, have a good-paying job as a coffee importer, and obviously, Mrs. Corinthos, we all know you're the editor at Couture. And you have three children as well. A nice family setting."

Sonny and Kate glanced at each other, and then Kate turned back to Anne. "Ms. Garrett, this is happening way too fast. I'm afraid we can't give you an answer right now. Could you give us a day or two to discuss this?"

"Of course," Anne agreed warmly. "I didn't expect you to have a decision at this moment. Here's my card, and you can call me when you're ready." She gathered her things and stood up to leave the house. As she got to the door, she turned around. "I don't want to put any pressure on you, but this is really hard on Rhiannon. I talked to her about you before I left, and she seemed upset, but I think she would want this much more than foster care." She paused. "But whatever decision suits you, suits me." She then left, leaving Sonny and Kate alone.

As soon as she knew that Anne was gone, Kate stood up and paced the room. "Sonny, what just happened?!" she nearly shouted.

Sonny merely scratched his head. "God, Kate, I don't know, but I do know that this isn't how my day usually starts."

Kate gave him a look. "Very funny," she said. She ran her hands through her hair as she continued pacing. "The news just came so fast. First she says that my sister is dead, and suddenly she wants us to practically adopt her teenage daughter!" She paused. "Oh, and my parents. That's three surprises in five minutes!"

"How estranged were you?" Sonny asked with disbelief.

"Not now, Sonny," Kate sighed as she plopped back down onto the couch. "Right now we have to focus on what we're about to get placed on our laps- Rhiannon."

"Right," Sonny said. "How old did Anne say she was?"

"Mmm, sixteen," Kate answered.

"Yikes," Sonny said. "What an awful age to be in this situation."

"Especially when she's already going through other teenage problems," Kate added.

There was a momentary silence, and then Kate said, "But I don't know if we could take care of her Sonny. We've got our own budding marriage to focus on, and we both know that I've had absolutely no experience with children before Michael, Morgan, and Kristina, and even then that's different, since they're not here everyday and I'm only their stepmother."

"But," Sonny began to argue. "You know what Anne said. She goes into foster care if we don't let her live here. She'll have to live with people that don't know a thing about her and her family. At least we knew her parents."

"You never even really raised a girl before. Kristina is only five and it's not like you spend a lot of time with her," Kate pointed out.

Sonny buried his face in his hands. Kate slid over right next to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry, Sonny. I had to point that out," Kate apologized.

"No, I'm not worried about that," Sonny stated, lifting his head up again. "I just don't understand why you're so hell-bent on refusing to let Rhiannon live here." He looked deeply into Kate's eyes. "Does it have to do with separating yourself from your family?"

Kate just looked away from him. "I don't want to talk about it. At least not now," she said quietly.

"Fine," Sonny relented. "But if that's what it is, that shouldn't have to do with Rhiannon."

"What about the mob?" Kate asked, completely throwing Sonny off. He didn't even consider his influence in the mob a problem. "Sonny, your enemies always go after your family in some way, and with Anthony Zacharra and his crew here, it's even more dangerous. I can't believe Ms. Garrett had no idea about it."

"Rhiannon is old enough to defend herself a lot more easily," Sonny defended.

"Are you saying that she'll definitely get attacked?!" Kate exclaimed.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that!" Sonny insisted. "I'm just trying to make life in the mafia sound a lot easier. Who knows, she could like the adventure."

"This is hopeless," Kate sighed. "Forget it. You win, Sonny. We'll take her."

"W-what?" Sonny said, feeling slightly disappointed that he had gotten his way so quickly. "You mean it?"

"I do," Kate said.

"But sweetheart," Sonny said. "Do you want to, or are you just doing this for me?"

Kate looked up into his deep dark eyes. "Both, in a way. It's more for you, but I do want to, kind of, as an apology of some sort to my family, especially Izzy. I know that I'll accept and love Rhiannon's presence in the house. I think I'll just need a few days. This is all a big shock, you know?"

Sonny was surprised to see tears fill up her light brown eyes.

"Izzy…and-and Tony…murdered?" Kate stuttered, her face turning back into a ghostly pale color. She let herself fall into Sonny's open arms.

"It's okay," Sonny said, saddened himself. He had only met Tony a few times, but didn't remember him that well. Izzy was like an older version of Kate, but with lighter hair, hazel eyes instead of the soft brown that Kate had, and a little taller. She was also like an older sister to Sonny. They got along so well, always joking and talking about simple things. He hadn't seen Izzy since he left Bensonhurst, before Rhiannon was born.

"Little Rhiannon," Kate said with a slight smile, pulling herself out of the embrace and wiping her eyes. "She was just a little baby when I left. I wonder what she looks like now." Tears suddenly threatened to pour out of her eyes again.

"I'll tell you what," Sonny said hastily. "When Kristina gets here we can talk to her about this and we'll call Michael and Morgan and talk to them about it. I'm sure Kristina and Morgan could care less at their age, and would be excited about a cousin coming here, but Michael might feel threatened about someone a little older living here and probably spending more time with me." Kate rested her head on his shoulder and he stroked her hair as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "After that's done, we'll go out with Kristina and take her shopping and we could go out to eat somewhere. We'll just clear our heads and forget about all this for a little while, okay? "

"Okay," Kate whispered back. Then the doorbell rang, and Sonny went up to get it, leaving Kate in her own thoughts.

**A/N: This used to be the Prologue, but I decided to just make it Chapter 1. It's not that different, but when I was rereading the original, I was like, "Wait, I highly doubt it would take Sonny and Kate ten seconds to make a life-changing decision." Maybe it still was quick in the revised version, but it's a little more realistic. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Changes on the Doorstep**

Sonny Corinthos and Kate Howard are happy newlyweds, and Kate had just gotten used to the fact that she is a stepmother to Michael, Morgan, and Kristina. Her life takes another turn when Rhiannon Star arrives on the Corinthos's doorstep.

**I do not own General Hospital or any of its characters. I only own Rhiannon and any other minor characters that show up throughout the story. Note: Chapters 1-3 were rewritten!!!**

Chapter 2  
_Two days later…_

_Knock-knock-knock. _

"SPINELLI, GET THE DOOR!" a voice roared from the other room.

"Oh, um, right away, Stone Cold!" Damian Spinelli said quickly, tearing his eyes away from his precious laptop to stand up, tripping and stubbing his toe as he did so. He stumbled to the door and whipped it open, revealing Sonny.

"Mr. Corinthos sir!" Spinelli squeaked, looking at the menacing man in front of him. "Wha-what gives you the utmost importance being here on this fine day?"

"Spinelli," Sonny greeted shortly, ignoring his pointless question. With his dark brown, almost black eyes staring into Spinelli's, he looked very menacing indeed. _How can Jason live with this cyber freak day after day? _he always wondered, the fact never ceasing to amaze him. He looked around the room. "Where's Jason?"

"Sonny?" Jason Morgan emerged from the other room, toweling his wet hair dry and wearing a tight black T-shirt and jeans. "Shouldn't you be at the office?"

"The office can wait. I have Max standing guard at the door," Sonny answered. "I need to tell you something."

"Does it have to do with getting a new addition to the house?" Jason guessed.

"Yea-wait!" Sonny interrupted himself. "How did you know that?"

"Well Carly and the boys called me last night to say hello, and Morgan was all excited," Jason explained. "So I asked him what was going on and he kept repeating, 'We're getting a cousin, we're getting a cousin!' and Michael had to tell me the whole story."

"Why is another wee one moving into your household of darkness?" Spinelli wondered.

Sonny sighed. "Just let me explain!" he said with a tone of annoyance in his voice.

"On Saturday, a social worker stopped by and said that Kate's sister and her husband were murdered," he continued. "They wanted us to take in their sixteen-year-old daughter Rhiannon, and we agreed."

"Rhiannon?" Spinelli said. "Is that the fair niece's name?"

"Yes Spinelli!" Sonny answered impatiently. "Rhiannon Star."

Spinelli's eyes lit up like Christmas trees. "Rhiannon Star," he breathed. "With a beautiful, exotic name like that, she must be…well, a beautiful, exotic girl!"

"Spinelli, _cool it_!" Jason ordered.

"Yes, um, sorry Stone Cold," Spinelli said quietly, slinking away to his laptop and entering the wonderful world of the Internet once more.

"So, what exactly do you want to talk to me about?" Jason asked Sonny.

"Well, you've been good at solving cases," Sonny answered. "I thought that maybe we could get involved with the murders of Izzy and her husband. She was close to me too, so I take this just as personally, and bringing the bastard to justice is becoming an important thing in my life right now."

"Sonny, I don't know…" Jason said with uncertainty, running a hand through his hair. He saw this as more of a family matter, and didn't really feel like getting involved in anything as intimate as this.

Then again, when it came to protecting his son, Jake, when his supposed father, Lucky Spencer, wasn't able to, Sonny had always been there to give advice and help out. Jason inwardly sighed. He hated those goddamn dilemmas. Maybe helping Sonny wasn't the smart thing to do, but it most definitely was the right thing.

"Okay, I'll do it," Jason said quickly before he could disagree with himself once more. "That is, if they'll even let us."

Sonny smiled. "Oh, don't worry about that. If Bensonhurst hasn't changed a lot, and I'm pretty sure it hasn't, half the cops that were there back in the day are probably still there, and they know me pretty well."

"Somehow, I don't think that reassures me that much," Jason muttered from the side of his mouth so only Spinelli could hear him.

"Also," Sonny said loudly, and Jason and Spinelli turned back to him, feigning innocence. "I have to talk to you about something else." He slumped his shoulders in defeat. "I have no idea how to raise a girl."

"What about yours and the Goddess Mother's wee one?" Spinelli questioned.

It took much of Sonny's patience not to scream with insanity. "Let me rephrase that. _Teenage _girl."

Jason backed away slowly. "Don't look at me!" he warned. He pointed to Spinelli. "My only suggestion is to look up some tips on his computer."

"Now hold on a second!" Spinelli pleaded, not about to let Sonny trash his precious baby with information that he had nothing to do with. When Sonny ignored him and walked up to snatch the laptop away from him, he quickly got up and bolted into another room.

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"Hello, I'm here to see Anne Garrett?" Kate said to a receptionist. "She said that she would be here."

"Just a minute," the receptionist answered, and walked off.

Kate was at the New England Social Services Center, which, luckily for Kate, was conveniently located in northern New York, so it only took a few hours for her to drive there. She was there to drop off the papers that she and Sonny had worked on, and to ask a few things about Rhiannon, like how she was doing and if she's responding well to her new living arrangements. Some of the papers that she and Sonny had received recently showed Rihannon's likes and dislikes, her favorite colors included, so that would help them pick out the color of her room and furniture. They had also learned about her type of style and favorite kinds of music but figured she didn't need any extra clothes, CDs or such, although Kate **was** itching to run to the nearest designer shop, determined to pick out a stylish new wardrobe. They already stocked up the fridge with her favorite foods and drinks and made note of any restaurants or fast food places she would enjoy. Hopefully all of this would help her feel more welcome.

"Mrs. Corinthos! I was expecting you today!" Anne greeted as she emerged into the room. "Let's go into my office."

Kate was led into a small but cozy room that for some random reason reminded her of a principal's office. Anne sat down in a chair behind her desk while Kate took one of the chairs next to the door. "I see you answered all of the questions correctly and honestly, Mrs. Corinthos." She nodded with approval and set the papers down. "All of the paperwork is in order. Now I'm guessing that you would want to know how Rhiannon is doing right now?"

"Is she still at the police station?" Kate asked instantly. "Is she safe?"

Anne chuckled, and for the first time Kate noticed how exhausted she looked. "We're keeping a close watch on her. We're trying to keep her as comfortable as we can, but she's putting up a big fight, screaming and cursing every chance she gets." She took notice of Kate's uncertain look. "But I would probably do the same thing if I had been stuck in the station for a little more than a week now," she corrected herself quickly. "For a teenager that's just been orphaned in the most unfortunate of circumstances, I have to admit, she's handling it better than I would've thought." Her voice lowered as she spoke the next sentence. "Ever since the murder, she hasn't cried or had any kind of breakdown. Not one. We're a little worried about that."

Kate nodded with agreement. "If she keeps holding it in, it'll be worse when she finally breaks," she mused.

"We've noticed she seems a _tad _bit more cheerful when we told her that she would be living with you and your husband," Anne explained. "Just a tad. But she was probably hoping that we would find a family member that she actually knew for her to live with." Kate smiled apologetically and blushed when Anne said that last line.

"We already have everything set up for her," she said, regaining her composure. "We turned one of the guest rooms into a bedroom, and painted it her favorite colors, and the kids are _so _excited to meet her-"

"Are you excited, Mrs. Corinthos?" Anne questioned.

Kate pondered this for a moment. "I am," she said. "But I'm also nervous. You see, Ms. Garrett, for certain reasons, I've been estranged from my family for years. The news about my sister has come suddenly, and I had just become a stepmother to my husband's children. When you asked us if we could take care of Rhiannon, I panicked. I still have no idea how to raise a child, much less a teenage one, and especially someone from the family I never talked to. But Sonny keeps telling me that it will be fine, and I know there are friends in town that could help us, so I'm warming up to the idea more and more."

"You'll be fine," Anne reassured Kate.

There was a moment of silence, which was soon broken by Kate. "Any news on the murder?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know a lot," Anne sighed. "Since I'm obviously not part of the police force. The murderer is tricky; he was careful not to move anything around in the house in case it could give him away and no fingerprints have been found. Your sister and her husband have been shot- I apologize for saying that so bluntly- and the murderer has been careful to stay away from the bodies in case anything from him, like a strand of hair, would get on them."

"My husband," Kate spoke up, "has friends that are good with solving murder cases. He went to one of them to ask for their help. Do you think they would be allowed to assist?"

"Mrs. Corinthos, that's not my place to decide," Anne said. "But I can ask the Commissioner. With a case as complicated as this, we may need all the help we can get."

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"Is Anne Garrett here?" a police officer asked the receptionist.

She glanced at the left hallway. "She's in the office with someone right now, but she will be with you shortly," she said. "Would you mind waiting in this room?" She pointed to a room next to her desk.

"Thank you," the officer replied, and turned to a figure standing behind him. "Come on, Rhiannon."

Rhiannon Star crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the officer, but followed him anyway. Thanks to her current experience, she knew that complaining wouldn't get her out of this "adoption" or whatever they wanted to call it, and it most definitely wouldn't bring her parents back.

She didn't even know why she was complaining in the first place. It's not like she was spending everyday in a jail cell; okay, she was, but it was one of the better ones, and they tried to make it as comfortable as they could for her. And she wasn't going into a foster home either. She was actually going to live with family.

_Then again, _she thought. _That said family member is the same one that estranged herself and changed everything about her when she left home. That's barely family._

Rhiannon heard a lot about Connie Falconeri/Kate Howard from her family. Well, she heard about Connie from her family. She knew about Kate from reading her magazine, **Couture, **and seeing pictures of her in the latest gossip magazines arriving to a premiere or something fancy-shmancy like that, and she remembered reading about the "surprising marriage" of her and some coffee importer from a local town who was now her uncle. She was surprised to see the striking resemblance between Kate and her now-deceased mother. At least one good thing came from having to live with that pampered fashion editor. It would be _kind of _like seeing her mom again. _**Kind of.**_

She yawned, stretching her arms and looking around. It was a relief to get out of the station for a little bit. There were nobody watching her intently to see if she would have a breakdown like she overheard them talking about. _Psssssh. _Who did they think they were, psychiatrists?

She also gets some food and a drink when she goes out too. Come to think of it, she was pretty hungry right now. She could use a nice, juicy, fattening burger. Burger King it is, then. And then a more healthy choice of Vitamin Water after that. Peach-mango sounded like a really good idea on a hot day like this.

"Thank you, Mrs. Corinthos. I'll see you in a few days," a voice said, bringing Rhiannon back to the real world. She looked out at the main room. There was that Social Service person, Ms. Gilbert or something like that, and there was **the **Kate Howard, in the flesh. Rhiannon quickly got a glimpse of her before she turned her back to the room she was in.

"No problem, Ms. Garrett. See you then," Kate replied cheerfully, and walked out the door.

"Hmph," Rihannon muttered quietly to herself. So that's her aunt. _She doesn't seem too bad…_

There was a loud rumbling sound, and Rihannon looked down at her stomach, embarrassed. She could really use that burger.

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"SONNY! MICHAEL! MORGAN! SOMEBODY!" Kate shouted as she entered the Corinthos household. Michael and Morgan were now in the home, as they returned from their trip just this morning, looking sunburned, tired, but nevertheless satisfied.

Kate fondly remembered talking to them over the phone about their new arrival. Instantly, they had gotten excited over the fact that a cousin was going to live with them, and not just any cousin, an "older, girl cousin," Kate could overhear Michael had told Morgan with glee. That got them thinking of the tricks and pranks they could play on her that they _could've _played on Kate but were too terrified to.

"No pranks!" was the first thing Sonny had told them sternly when they arrived home, reading their minds. This caused the boys to moan and groan throughout the rest of the morning.

"HELLO?!" Kate shouted again and sighed. Being a large house, sometimes even the loudest voice couldn't be heard. But then she heard the familiar sound that reminded her of tennis balls pattering on the floor. Well, at least Michael and Morgan were still home.

Sure enough, the two boys ran down the stairs into the living room. Morgan was, at least, while Michael opted to slide down the banister, which annoyed Kate to no end.

"Michael, how many times have I told you not to do that," she scolded him wearily, wondering why she was even trying. Michael was just going through that phase where he liked danger, and she had to deal with that.

"Sorry Kate," Michael apologized for probably the millionth time so far, plopping down on one of the couches. Little Morgan held out his arms and Kate obediently picked him up, grunting from the weight. "Where's your father?" she asked.

"He's at Jason's, but he said he should be back by now," Michael answered. He looked at the door. "Three, two, one…?"

The door opened, and Sonny walked in to the sight of Michael pumping his fist into the air. "I'm amazing!" he declared.

Sonny gave Michael one of his trademark looks, and then turned to Kate and Morgan. "Hey bud," he said, giving Morgan a little high-five. Then he looked at Kate. "Delivered the papers?"

"Yeah," Kate said. "I didn't see Rhiannon though. Funny, Ms. Garrett said that she was supposed to stop by, but I guess I just missed her. So everything's ready then?"

"Pretty much," Sonny said. "The room's painted, the furniture's in place, and everything else is ready. We should be set." He sat down on the couch next to Michael. "Remember you two, I already told you about your new cousin's story, so no funny business. We don't want her anymore upset than she already may be," he scolded to the boys. "Remember, you mess with her, you'll have to deal with me."

"Gotcha Dad," Michael said seriously while Morgan nodded solemnly.

Kate sat down on the other side of Michael with Morgan on her lap and let out a low whistle. "Five more days, gang, and then we've got another handful dropping right into our laps."

**A/N: Chapter 2 only has some minor changes. Sonny and Jason's conversation was revised, and I might've taken away and/or added some new words/sentences as well. I can't even tell. Haha that rhymed. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Changes on the Doorstep**

Sonny Corinthos and Kate Howard are happy newlyweds, and Kate had just gotten used to the fact that she is a stepmother to Michael, Morgan, and Kristina. Her life takes another turn when Rhiannon Star arrives on the Corinthos's doorstep.

**I do not own General Hospital or any of its characters. I only own Rhiannon and any other minor characters that show up throughout the story. Note: Chapters 1-3 were rewritten!!!**

Chapter 3

It was now Sunday and the day had arrived, and the Corinthos household was spotless, all due to Kate's newfound obsession of making it that way. Everything was vacuumed, dusted, vacuumed, and/or washed until they gleamed. Kate had also gone to great lengths to make sure everybody was dressed nicely, which wasn't an easy task. After much complaining from Morgan, some from Michael, and a little from Sonny, she was finally able to convince them, thanks to some threats. It was easier to convince Kristina. Kate silently thanked God that she was that certain age where she liked to wear dresses. All of that reassurance didn't stop her from being a nervous wreck, however. Poor Sonny had to console her for the past six days, only to get screamed at or suffer any other kind of hysteria. At least he understood that it was just nerves.

"SONNY! MICHAEL! MORGAN! KRISTINA! HURRY UP!" Kate barked from downstairs. Sonny was still helping the three children get ready, and in Kate's opinion, it was taking too long. She almost collapsed onto the couch in frustration, but quickly corrected herself, not wanting to rumple up her outfit or put dents on the couch.

"We're coming!" Kristina announced as she and Morgan raced downstairs. Michael and Sonny were just a few feet behind them.

Sonny surveyed the scene of Kate studying the room, making sure it was perfect and made a tsking noise. "Kate, you know that a normal teenager is coming here, not the Queen of England, right?"

If looks could kill, Sonny would've died repeatedly fifteen times. "All right, all right, sorry!" he quickly apologized.

The doorbell rang. "Dammit, that's them!" Kate said, not caring if the kids heard her. "Okay, um, Michael, you stand here, and Morgan, go over here…oh my God, I have to get out of here! I just can't do this!" she said hysterically, trying to run out of the room, but Sonny quickly intercepted her.

"Calm down!" he snapped, shaking her lightly to put herself back into reality. "Honey, what are you freaking out about in the first place?"

"I'm supposed to be running a fashion magazine, not raising a teenager full-time!" Kate nearly shouted in her hysteria. Sonny merely sighed, and pulled her in for a kiss.

"Ew, gross!" the three kids groaned in unison.

But when Sonny pulled her away, Kate was calm. "Thanks," she said quietly.

The doorbell rang again. "Listen," Sonny said. "We're in this together. We're a team. Just give it a few weeks or so and it'll be a breeze. Right outside is a girl who really needs somebody right now, whether she says so or not. Now put on that famous smile that I love…that's it," he nodded approvingly when Kate complied. "Now I'm going to open that door, and we'll be welcoming Rhiannon Star into her new home." He walked over to the door and motioned Kate to join him, which she did, while Michael, Morgan, and Kristina stood back near the couch. Then he opened it, revealing Anne Garrett and a girl next to him, whose head was down.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Corinthos," she beamed. "I'm pleased to introduce you to your niece, Rhiannon." At the mention of her name, the girl looked up.

Sonny and Kate looked at the sixteen-year-old, taking a moment to see what she looked like. She was slim, and very tan, with light golden brown hair cascading down to a little bit below her shoulders. A pair of very dark brown eyes stared back at them, devoid of any emotion at the moment. She was dressed in a black tank top with a picture of Eli Love on the front that ended just above her navel, plaid Bermuda shorts, and Converse sneakers. She had two earrings in each ear and one in her left cartilage. She also had her navel pierced, and also had an anti-eyebrow piercing under her right eye.

Kate was the first to speak after a few moments. "Hi Rhiannon," she greeted warmly, holding out her hand. Rhiannon stared blankly at it, and finally lifted out her own, timidly shaking Kate's. _Jackass, _she scolded herself. _Since when are you this shy? _

"This is my husband Sonny Corinthos," Kate continued, pointing to Sonny. Then she stepped to the side so Rhiannon could get a view of the three children behind her. "These are your new cousins Michael, Morgan, and Kristina." She smiled tentatively, pretty shy herself.

Rhiannon lifted up her hand for a brief moment. "Hey," she said shortly, inwardly wishing she could just run up to wherever her room was and stay there forever.

Anne noticed the tension and immediately spoke. "Well, I think I must be going now." She turned to Rhiannon. "Good luck honey," she spoke softly. "You'll be happy here, I promise." After giving her a brief hug, she waved good-bye to the family and walked out, closing the door behind her.

"Why don't you show Rhiannon her room?" Kate quickly suggested to Sonny. He picked up her bags and walked up the stairs. Rhiannon followed half-heartedly, the blank look still on her face.

"She doesn't seem that nice," Kristina mentioned sorrowfully once Rhiannon was out of earshot, her lip drooping.

Kate bent down to her level and hugged her. "It's okay honey," she reassured her. "Remember when your daddy and I told you that she lost her parents?" Kristina nodded. "She's just sad and angry right now, and it'll take time for her to get used to this place. She'll get along with you soon, I promise."

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"…Just up those stairs, make a left into this hallway, and your room is the first door on the right," Sonny explained to Rhiannon, who was looking at her surroundings with wonder. Despite trying to look uncaring and cold, she was amazed at how freaking huge the house was.

"Here it is," Sonny presented, opening the door and turning on the lamp, illuminating the room with light. "I hope you like it." Rhiannon stepped in and looked around, surprised.

The room was painted in aqua, white, and black stripes, her favorite colors, and a fluffy white rug covered the floor. The bedspread and pillows were also in the same pattern and colors as the walls, and her closet door and dressers were white. There was a widescreen TV opposite her bed, so she could watch it from her bed if she wanted to. A laptop computer was placed on a desk on the side of the room, and a stereo was under it, with little cubby holes on the sides of the desk, obviously meant to hold CDs. A ceiling fan provided the lighting, and the fan was running, providing a cool breeze. Two windows were in the room. One looked out into the backyard, and the other looked out to the house next door. Although she didn't show it, Rhiannon was pleased. _Wow, Miss Howard and her husband really worked hard on this, _she thought. Her slight joy was short-lived when she thought of her old room. It was painted the same way.

Sonny took notice of the disappointment on her face. "We learned your favorite colors and looked at pictures of your old room and thought we could make it the same way," he explained. "If you want to change it, it's no big deal, we understand…"

Rhiannon turned to him, and he looked so genuinely concerned that she let her guard down a little. "No, it's okay," she said quietly. "I like it. Thanks, Mr. Corinthos."

Sonny smiled slightly. "Just call me Sonny. I don't think you're ready to call me 'Uncle Sonny' yet." He let out a laugh, but stopped at the look on Rhiannon's face. "But if you can't call me Sonny either, Mr. Corinthos is fine too." Knowing that it was his cue to get out, he started stepping out of the room. "You know, if you want to talk, me and Kate will be here. You probably don't want to right now though, so whenever you do, just look for us. Um…Kate was starting dinner before you arrived. You like pot roast, right?" Rhiannon didn't answer. "I'll just leave you alone now. I'll have one of the kids get you when it's time to eat." He closed the door softly and walked away.

Rhiannon rolled her eyes and plopped down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The bed was very comfortable, and she wanted to just cover herself with the bedspread and sleep for hours. She hadn't gotten much sleep lately.

She glanced over at the remote on her dresser and took it, turning on the TV. Flipping through the channels, she settled on a music video channel playing Beer by Reel Big Fish. She listened with satisfaction as the song began to play. It always cheered her up whenever she was feeling down.

_She called me late last night, to say she loved me so,  
It didn't matter anymore,  
But I say she never cared, and that she never will,  
I'd do it all again, I guess I'll have to wait until then…_

Skipping to the beat, Rhiannon skipped over to her bags and pulled out posters out of one of them. After pulling out numerous amounts of them, she took out a bag full of pictures of her friends and family. She took out tacks and started with the pictures first, sticking all of them to the wall right next to her bed, so she could glance at them before she fell asleep. She felt a pang of sadness looking at them, but made them smile all the same. There was a bunch with her parents, some with them holding baby Rhiannon, or recent ones celebrating her Sweet Sixteen. There were some with them celebrating Christmas, and others of them at Coney Island when Rhiannon was young. Then there were the ones with her friends. She laughed at the one where Megan was in the middle of suffering milkshake shooting out of her nose and her and Blair giving each other bunny ears and being cross-eyed. When she was finished with the pictures, she continued with the posters.

_If I get drunk, well, I'll pass out on the floor now baby,  
You won't bother me no more,  
If you're drinking well, you know that you're my friend and I say,  
I think I'll have myself a beer…_

Rhiannon danced around the room, putting her posters neatly around the room. They contained artists such as All-American Rejects, Green Day, Simple Plan, Coheed and Cambria, Alexisonfire, Panic! at the Disco, Reel Big Fish, Paramore, Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Stevie Nicks, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne, The Police, The Beatles, Tegan and Sara, and her personal favorite, Eli Love. She was so caught up dancing around the room and putting up posters, she didn't notice she door open a crack.

"She looks so happy," Kate whispered to Sonny, watching Rhiannon with a smile. "It's her little piece of home."

"Just wait. She'll warm up," Sonny whispered back, and he quietly closed the door.

Meanwhile, Rhiannon had finished unrolling the biggest poster of all. It was another Eli Love poster, but it was more than that. It was authentically signed by Eli himself, and not only that, he personally auctioned it on Ebay. It took a lot of money for Rhiannon to get that poster, and she almost lost it to some other bidder that seemed very determined to get it. Luckily, she won in the end and was proud to have it. This had happened only a month ago, so it still looked new and perfect. She stood up on the bed and began attempting to stick the poster on the ceiling, right above her head. The ceiling wasn't that high, so Rhiannon only had to jump on the bed a little to get it on.

_She called me late last night, to say she loved me so,_

_But I guess he changed her mind,  
Well I should have known it wouldn't be all right, _

_But I cant live without her, so I wont even try, _

Maybe some day, I'll think of what to say.  
Maybe next time I'll remember what to do,  
She looks like heaven, maybe this is hell,  
Said she'd do it all again, she'd promise not to tell, 

_If I get drunk, well, I'll pass out on the floor now baby,  
You won't bother me no more,  
If you're drinking well, you know that you're my friend and I say,  
I think I'll have myself a beer._

The music video ended and started playing a new one, while Rhiannon looked at her finished work with pride. Then the door opened, and she jumped, turning around to see who scared her.

"Sorry," Michael apologized, stepping inside. "Is it okay if I can come in?"

Rhiannon shrugged. "I guess," she said without emotion. "Is it time to eat already?"

"Almost," Michael said. "Kate just wanted me to ask you what you wanted to drink."

"Umm…would you happen to have ginger ale?" Rhiannon asked. Michael nodded and walked away. "Nice room," he commented before he went into the hallway.

Rhiannon looked around her room and shrugged. _What was his name again? Matthew? Michel? _She jumped when she turned back to her doorway and saw Michael standing there once again.

"What?" she snapped.

Michael winced. "Um…well…I didn't know if you knew how to get to the dining room, so…I figured…I should lead you down there?" he suggested, looking down at the ground the whole time.

Rhiannon stared stupidly at him for a moment before his words got in her head, realizing to herself that if she tried to get around the house alone, she would most definitely get lost. "I guess," she sighed. "Thanks." She waited for him to lead the way and then followed him.

"By the way," Michael said while looking ahead. "I'm sorry about your parents." Before Rhiannon could make a remark, he continued. "I know you don't want to hear it, but I know how you feel, and there's a bunch of people in this town that do too. Trust me."

Rhiannon didn't answer, but looked after him, surprised.

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"What is this stuff?" Kristina asked as Kate piled some gravy-covered meat on four of the plates.

"Pot roast," Kate replied, laughing when Kristina made a face. "But there are chicken nuggets for you and Morgan. Speaking of those…" She put her oven mitts back on and opened the oven, taking out a tray of perfectly cooked nuggets.

"Remember the first time you tried to cook you practically set the kitchen on fire?" Sonny remembered as he walked in with Morgan.

"Remember when I used to have someone cook for me?" Kate said, cracking up when she remembered that incident. It was right after she and Sonny got back from their honeymoon…

_"Hey Dad, what's for dinner?" Michael asked and he and Morgan ran into the living room._

_"Ummm, I don't know. Kate's making it," Sonny said, pointing to Kate._

_"Fish," Kate answered._

_"That's weird though, it doesn't smell like it. At least not the way Jax makes it," Michael remarked._

_"Blech," Morgan added._

_"Boys, that's rude!" Sonny scolded them, looking at Kate apologetically._

_"No Dad. I mean it doesn't smell right. It smells like it's…burning…HOLY SHIT!" Michael finished with a yell when he saw smoke coming from the kitchen._

_"Michael!" Sonny shouted. "No cursing!"_

_"Wait Sonny, the kitchen!" Kate screeched, leaping up from the couch and running to the kitchen._

"And what made it worse," Sonny laughed, pointing to Kate. "You didn't know how to use the fire extinguisher."

"Well you were the one screaming like a girl that your house was burning down," Kate shot back.

"But I finally did take the extinguisher from you and put out the fire myself," Sonny defended, puffing out his chest in importance.

"Forget it Dad. You just lost," Michael spoke up, entering the room with Rhiannon following behind, her head hanging down.

"Since when were you on Kate's team?" Sonny asked with mock hurt. He started placing the plates around the table and the kids and Kate sat down in their usual places. "You can sit there, Rhiannon," he said, pointing to a spot between him (which was at the head of the table) and Kristina.

Rhiannon numbly walked to the seat and sat down. She looked down at her plate to see what was for dinner. It was pot roast, one of her favorites. She could've just taken the fork and started eating, pretending nothing was wrong just for a moment. But she couldn't; everything was wrong. She looked around at Sonny, Kate, and the kids, and realized how out of place she felt. She shouldn't be here with an estranged aunt and her husband. She should be back at Bensonhurst, in her smaller, cozier house with her parents. She pushed her plate away, her appetite falling rapidly.

"I'm not hungry," she declared, getting up from her chair. "I'm going back up to…" Her voice trailed off when she almost said "my room" but it wasn't her real room. It didn't feel like it. She merely left it at that and ran out of the kitchen, leaving everybody else to stare after her. None of them bothered to run after her.

**A/N: Major changes in this one. Once again, when I reread this chapter, I thought, "Not realistic. Rhiannon shouldn't be able to warm up to anybody that quick (meaning Michael)" so that conversation was scrapped, although Michael mentioned a smidgen that he understands her loss. And then the whole little dinner thing is totally new. The reason I had to redo these chapters is 1) they were much more unrealistic and 2) I had writer's block and had to change things to make it easier for future chapters. I hope you still liked them. Please R&R  
P.S- Just so you know, eight days had passed since the events of Chapter 1. It is mentioned that it was a Saturday in Ch. 1, making this indeed a Sunday. Just in case people for some reason were scratching their heads about the time period, there ya go.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Changes on the Doorstep**

Sonny Corinthos and Kate Howard are happy newlyweds, and Kate had just gotten used to the fact that she is a stepmother to Michael, Morgan, and Kristina. Her life takes another turn when Rhiannon Star arrives on the Corinthos's doorstep.

I do not own General Hospital or any of its characters. I only own Rhiannon and any other minor characters that show up throughout the story. 

Chapter 4

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BE-

"Effin' Christ," Rhiannon muttered, pounding on the "off" button on her alarm. She sat up and groaned when she saw the time. 6:00 AM. She only set it that early because she had to get up that time during her stay in the police station, and completely forgot to switch it to a reasonable hour. She groaned again and fell back onto the bed, wrapping the comforter around her and hoping to get back to sleep, but she couldn't. She sighed as she pulled herself out of the bed and looked in the mirror. Her hair was disheveled and her cheeks were smeared with eyeliner and mascara. She must've fallen right asleep the night before, forgetting to wash her face or change her clothes. She took off yesterday's clothes and pulled on an oversized T-shirt and shorts and set off on a quest to find the bathroom.

Luckily the quest didn't take long; the nearest bathroom just happened to be two doors down. Rhiannon quickly washed her face to get rid of the makeup and patted it dry. She tied her unruly hair into a messy bun and made her way downstairs into the kitchen. She could smell coffee, and despite the fact that she could be running into Mr. Corinthos or Miss Howard (she had yet to get used to calling her Mrs. Corinthos), a nice, hot cup of fresh coffee was well worth it. She needed something to completely wake her up anyway.

She walked into the kitchen and as she dreaded, there was Kate.

"Morning," Kate greeted her simply as she poured herself a cup. When she was finished, she opened the cabinet door. "Do you want a cup?" she asked, her hand poised and ready to grab a mug.

Rhiannon shrugged. "Sure," she replied. Kate grabbed the mug and poured the coffee inside it, and then she handed it to Rhiannon. "I don't know what you like in it, but there's milk and cream and whatever in the fridge, and there's a jar of sugar over there."

_There's a lot you don't know, _Rhiannon thought bitterly as she watched Kate open the fridge and take out a carton of Half and Half. To her surprise, Kate used Half and Half and Sweet and Low sugar in her coffee. That was exactly what she used. They both even used the same number of packets of Sweet and Low.

"I'll take those," Rhiannon said. She poured the liquid into her steaming mug and used two packets of the sugar. After she quickly stirred it she sat down on one of the stools surrounding the counter.

Kate sat down across from her. "I hope you don't mind," she said quickly. "I always sit here while I drink my coffee."

Although Rhiannon wasn't too fond of Kate at the moment, she still had manners, and had always taught herself to respect people while she was in said person's household. "No, I don't mind," she responded, even though in her mind she most certainly did.

"Sonny would still be home on the weekends, but on the weekdays he has to wake up early to go to the office. He's a coffee importer," she continued, adding the last sentence when she noticed Rhiannon's confused face.

"Oh," was Rhiannon's reaction. She was trying to be as civil as possible while trying to finish her drink quickly so she could get out of this inferno.

But Kate wasn't stupid. After one quick sip of coffee, she set the mug down and was ready for business. "All right, Rhiannon. You can stop being all polite now. I know you hate me."

"Hate's too strong of a word," Rhiannon remarked. "I'd rather say strongly dislike."

"Whichever one it is," Kate snapped, causing the other girl to flinch slightly. "I know the reason. You're already angry enough about the murder of your parents, who also just happen to be my sister and my brother-in-law, and then you have to move in with an aunt you never knew."

"Gee, I wonder why I'd be upset about that," Rhiannon wondered sarcastically. "Why would you care about my mom anyway? You're the one that deserted the family and went on to become all rich and famous without even looking back."

"That doesn't mean that I didn't love them!" Kate said. "How dare you say that! You don't even know how that all happened in the first place so you shouldn't be sitting here saying that I didn't care about Izzy or my parents at all."

"You don't know what you missed during all those years!" Rhiannon shouted. "From the day I could talk and understand words, everybody in Bensonhurst had nothing but kind words to say about Connie Falconeri. When Mom talked about you, I could hear nothing but love and admiration. If you had ever decided to step back into our house, you would've been greeted with open arms! I was always fascinated hearing about Connie, and for a little bit, I was interested in her other side, Kate Howard. We all hoped that one day you would come back. Nobody said it, but I could sense it. And you have no idea how badly I wanted to meet my aunt, the person who I heard so many great things about. But I never could because you never came back. Probably about five years ago, I started feeling resentment towards you. How could you bask in all those riches while lying through your teeth about where you grew up? It's like you had erased your childhood. That was the aunt you became, and that was the aunt I never wanted to meet. I wanted to meet Aunt Connie, not Aunt Kate. So just imagine how I felt when I was told that I was going to move in with the aunt I _didn't _want to meet."

"I was only a baby when you left," she continued while on the verge of tears. "An innocent baby who had no idea what was going on during the time. Someone who most likely did nothing to cause you to leave. Even if you couldn't bear to see my parents, you should've still gotten to know me. Didn't you love me? Or did you hate everybody else so much it made you hate me as well?"

Kate had listened quietly to Rhiannon's rant without any questions and interruptions, and so Rhiannon waited patiently for a response, and also listened when Kate finally spoke. "The reasons why I left are too confusing to explain. Not only to you, but to everyone. You have to trust me though; deep in my heart, I still loved my family very much. There were days when I would be at a party and I would feel out of place, and for a second I would wish that I had Izzy or my parents by my side so I would feel more comfortable. I still thought of them, if only for a moment."

"What about me?" Rhiannon asked quietly.

"If I didn't love you," Kate said simply. "You wouldn't be in this house right now."

Rhiannon opened her mouth to respond, but she couldn't think of anything to say. She pursed her lips. "You know," she retorted. "I would prefer foster care anytime. The only reason that I said yes to this…" She took a shuddering breath. "…I had a sliver of hope that maybe I could find Aunt Connie…and I still do." With that said, and afraid that she would have a breakdown right then and there, she ran out of the kitchen. Kate looked after her, and buried her head in her folded arms, starting to sob.

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"Hey Sonny," Jason greeted tiredly as he walked into the office and dropped down into a chair like a sack of potatoes.

"You look well-rested, Sleeping Beauty," Sonny remarked as he noticed Jason beginning to doze off. Jason opened one ice-blue eye at that comment.

"Hilarious," he answered dryly as he sat up straight and fought to keep his eyes open. "But trying to convince the police force at Bensonhurst wasn't as easy as you thought. Oh yeah Sonny, those cops knew you all right, which made it even harder for them to trust me!"

Sonny grinned sheepishly. "I thought that their hatred for me would've died by now and they would focus on the good things I've done," he confessed, running a hand through his hair.

"Shut up," Jason snapped, rubbing his eyes. Sonny sighed; Jason was in a pretty testy mood. "Okay, okay," he said, stretching his arms. "Jason, I'm sorry I made you lose some sleep and caused you to have a bad hair day, and I'm even sorrier the cops gave you a hard time. What happened over there anyway?"

"Well first of all, the only reason I didn't get any sleep is because I was helping Spinelli all night dig up some more info on Anthony Zacharra, but that's not important. So I drive over to Bensonhurst and go to the police station and they're all nice and friendly. I ask them if I would be able to help, and they had said no; solving the case had been proved to be difficult and even the best detectives or private investigators couldn't do a thing. Then they asked me who I was and why I was interested, and I told them my name and that you had asked me to since you knew Isabella and they pretty much flipped out, naming all of the little stunts you had pulled back in the day and they said, and I quote, 'Why should we let a friend of _him _help out with something that requires a lot of responsibility?' I started telling them about my experience and everything-"

"So they said yes?" Sonny asked hopefully.

"No," Jason said shortly. "They wouldn't even let me get a quick glimpse of the bodies. But they did promise to contact me if they got any new leads."

"DAMMIT!" Sonny exploded. "And what happened to sneaking past them and breaking in to places and stealing records and all that crap that I always depend on you to do?"

"Sonny…" Jason sighed. "I'm sorry, but they were already thinking badly of me when they learned I was your friend. If I ever want a shot at being able to find out who murdered Isabella and Anthony, I have to get them to warm up to me, and getting caught breaking in wouldn't help too much."

"And Spinelli couldn't do any of his mumbo-jumbo on the computer?" Sonny pressed on. Jason shook his head. "They had nothing online," he replied.

"ARGH!" Sonny roared, resisting the urge to take all of the things on his desk and hurl them across the room. "It's bad enough that my new niece isn't doing well at all right now, and now I can't even help out with the murder cases of her parents, her mother happening to have been one of my good friends!"

"Speaking of which, how is Rhiannon?" Jason asked with interest.

"She absolutely hates us," Sonny answered. "It's not even an aftershock of what happened. It's her own personal hatred. I'm pretty sure that it's because of Kate leaving behind her family in Bensonhurst." He shook his head. "That girl has so many problems and has to deal with so many issues at such a young age."

"At least there's a good thing about that," Jason said unexpectedly.

"What?" Sonny asked with genuine interest.

"She'll fit right in with the town!" Jason responded. He ducked when a book was hurled at him.

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It was now evening in Port Charles, and in the Corinthos's house, Rhiannon hadn't come downstairs since her blow-up with Kate. It worried Kate so much that she had to peek into Rhiannon's room to make sure she was still alive, but didn't even try talking to her. She knew she lost the battle, and didn't want to refuel it until she knew she would win next time.

"I'm home!" Sonny announced as he walked into the house, hanging up his coat and looking around for his wife. Michael and Morgan were back with Carly for a few days and Kristina was with Alexis, so only Kate, Rhiannon, and himself were occupying the large home.

"Thank God," a voice groaned in delight, and Kate came in rubbing her eyes, which Sonny saw, at a closer inspection, were red from tiredness. "You have no idea just what happened this morning."

"Rhiannon?" Sonny guessed quietly. "What did she do?"

"Let's just say that she showed a verbal way of her feelings for me," Kate explained, leaning against her husband with her head resting on his chest. "Now I'm unable to do anything for her right now."

"Don't worry about it," Sonny told her.

"You can do something though," Kate said, pulling back. "Forgive me for bringing this up, but even before I left my family, I had already hurt somebody."

"Who?" Sonny asked, even though he perfectly knew the answer.

Kate gazed at him with sadness in her eyes. "You," she said. "I know it sounds completely ridiculous, but maybe that is something you two can bond over."

"No way!" Sonny immediately disagreed. "She already thinks of you as an enemy. I don't think making you look bad will really make things better between you and her."

"Sonny please, trust me!" Kate begged. "You also knew Izzy and you loved her like a sister. That's already one thing that would make her feel closer to you. And even though I've hurt you, you still forgave me. Maybe hearing that could help her eventually do the same. This has to be the stupidest plan that you've probably ever heard-"

"It might be," Sonny agreed jokingly.

"BUT!" Kate continued, pretending to ignore him. "Who says stupid plans never worked?" She grinned at Sonny. "Look at us. People said that we would never last, and we're happily married!" She pecked him on the nose. "Now go talk to her. For me."

Sonny rolled his eyes playfully. "All right, for you," he said. As he turned to go up the stairs, he could see a quick movement and a flash of brown hair disappear behind a wall.

"I _hope _she didn't learn that from Michael," Sonny muttered to himself as he climbed the stairs and entered the hallway, finding the right door and swinging it open.

Rhiannon was sprawled out on her bed, reading a magazine. Her hair seemed a little windswept and she looked distracted. She glared up at him. "I didn't hear you knock," she said.

Sonny just looked amused as he walked up to her, staring her down. "What magazine is that?" he asked, his lip twitching.

"Why do you care?" she retorted. "It's just a magazine I've been reading."

"For how long, five seconds?" Sonny asked, taking a few steps so he stood behind her and peered at the magazine. "Wow! I never knew that it was possible to read upside-down!" he exclaimed in mock astonishment. Rhiannon quickly flipped it over and scowled, giving herself away.

"Okay Rhiannon," Sonny said, bending down so he was at eye-level with her. "I'm sure you don't like being treated like a little kid just like I don't want to treat you like one, so let's act like normal people again, okay?" Rhiannon just looked blankly at him with her dark eyes. "Come on, talk to me. I know you want to spill your guts out to somebody." The teen looked away. _Well, she's not telling me off. That's getting somewhere, _Sonny thought. "If this helps you at all, Kate had hurt me once too." _Sorry Kate, _he apologized in his head. Rhiannon turned back to him, clearly interested.

"We both had lived in Bensonhurst and started dating when we were teenagers, probably around your age in fact, back when she was Connie," he told her. "When we were eighteen, we decided to run off together. I exactly don't remember why we actually wanted to when I think about it now. Probably just normal teenage rebellion. Well, then again, I wanted to get away from my step dad, but that's a whole different story. But the night we were supposed to leave, she stood me up, and the next day she told me that she wanted to have a good future and she couldn't see that if she ran off with me." He let out a whistle. "I left Bensonhurst soon after that and came here. I didn't see her again until a few months ago when she moved here. She was Kate Howard then. We had a tough time reconnecting because she wanted to get rid of me because I was part of her unwanted past, but that's hard to do when she lived right next door." He laughed at his own joke, and Rhiannon actually smiled. "But I was able to forgive her, and we got used to each other's new lifestyles, and now here we are. Rhiannon, I know you're furious at her, but believe me when I say this; you'll be able to forgive her. Maybe not now, but you will. This is obviously a very confusing time right now. I knew your mother too, you know."

"I didn't know," Rhiannon said, surprised.

"Wait, she could talk about Kate with no problem, but never mentioned me?" Sonny said, genuinely shocked. Rhiannon nodded. "That's strange, because we got along so well. It must've had to do with our break-up because things got really tense after that…But like I said, we were close. She was the sister I never had at the time. I heard about her and Anthony's…" He took a deep breath. "And it devastated me. I'll miss her a lot."

They both fell silent, and then Sonny spoke again. "There are a lot of people in this town that went through the same thing you have, maybe even worse. They can help you if you want it. Take me for example. My real father abandoned me and my mother when I was very young, and my mom dated this guy named Trevor Lansing, who happens to live right in this town." He seemed a bit angry when he said that. "But he accused me of pushing my mom down the stairs while she was pregnant with his child, my half-brother Ric, who also happens to live here. He gave her an ultimatum to stay with him or leave with me, and she chose me. Trevor had to raise Ric alone. But then when we moved to Bensonhurst, my mom was caught up in an abusive relationship with my step dad Deke and we were trapped. He beat both of us and locked me in a closet, which developed my claustrophobia. My mother eventually died protecting him. The whole time, she was too scared to get help because he could put more hell on us." He took a deep breath. "When I first came here, I told a friend about it and that friend killed him. I also reunited with my real dad, but all of the abuse made me confused for a while, and I hated my dad. But now I love him. As you can probably guess, he lives right here as well. But there's my sob story."

Rhiannon had listened to the story with shock and had her hand clapped over her mouth. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" she burst out, her eyes wide.

"Rhiannon, Kate and I care. I know it's exhausting for you to hear us to talk about you all the time, but we do it out of love. I'm trying to get my friend to help with the murder investigation to find out who had killed your parents. I want that bastard done with, and I want whoever that person is to be brought to justice." He held out his hand. "So what do you say, you and I could start getting along?"

Rhiannon looked at the hand warily, and then tentatively shook it. "Thanks Mr. Corinthos," she said softly, but full of gratitude and relief.

"Sonny," he corrected. "Get used to it and call me Sonny." He looked on with amusement when Rhiannon's lip twitched.

"I'll try," she promised.

"I'll leave you alone now," Sonny said, getting up and walking out of the room. "Good night Rhiannon."

"You too, Mr. Cori-uhh….Sonny," she said awkwardly.

"You'll get it," Sonny said with a smile, and then closed the door. Rhiannon stayed right there on her bed, feeling slightly more at peace.

**A/N: Woooo, I'm back! Finally, after months, a new chapter. This really wasn't my favorite to write, but there was a big history thing going on with Sonny and Rhiannon. At least now she knows she's somewhat not alone, but she hasn't met the other residents in Port Charles yet. An pretty funny fact: as I wrote most of this, I was listening to Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac. Hahaha. Anyway, please R&R!**


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